SENATE.] Powers of the Vice President. The object of his remarks seems to me intended rather to review old party distinctions, than to discuss political principles They can only be invoked to excite prejudices, which it has been the object of all parties, for the last twelve years, to forget. The principles which I have maintained are not to be shaken by that mode of argument. I rose merely to explain, not to reply. Mr. MACON expressed himself at length in opposition to the amendment, which he considered unlikely to be of any benefit. He had rather expunge the 6th and 7th rules, than pass this amendment. He did not believe in the doctrine of inherent powers, and was of opinion that the discretion of any man, if he were as wise as Solomon, would not be a proper guide for his direction. [FEB. 13, 1828. nished by your records, the grave circumstances which Mr. ROWAN moved that the question be divided. He might vote in favor of the latter clause of the amendment, but was opposed to the former. Mr. FOOT asked whether the amendment could be divided. The CHAIR considered that two propositions were embraced in it, and that votes might be taken separately upon them. Mr. BERRIEN expressed the same opinion, and, after a few remarks, he made a motion to adjourn: which was rejected. Mr. ROWAN withdrew his motion to divide, and mor ed to strike out of the amendment, the words "Presi dent or"-leaving the right to call to order in debate, to the Senators only. Mr. FOOT inquired whether this proposition had not already been decided by the rejection of the amendment proposed by the Senator from Georgia, [Mr. BERRILN] yesterday. The CHAIR expressed an opinion that the propositions were not the same, as that amendment embraced the proposition of the Senator from Kentucky, and several other objects. Mr. VAN BUREN asked for the yeas and nays: the vote was then taken on striking out the words "Presi dent or ;" and decided in the nagative, by the following vote: YEAS.-Messrs. Benton, Berrien, Eaton, Ellis, Johnson, of Kentucky, Kane, King, McLane, Macon, Ridgley, Rowan, Smith, of Maryland, Tazewell, White, Williams, Woodbury.-16. Mr. CHAMBERS said, he did not rise to go into the general argument; he wished, however, to confine the attention of the Senate to the true question. It had noHe did not wish to thing to do with latitude of debate. restrain it, and he did not beleive any man on the floor had such a wish. His wish was to secure Senators in He wished to their feelings, as well as their persons. vest in the Chair the duty, as well as the right, to call to order a member, who, in debate, might use offensive or insulting personal remark toward a member. He was not solicitous about the manner. The Chair does not believe it now has this power. The gentleman from New Jersey, [Mr. DICKERSON] had argued the propriety of this necessity sufficiently. He was surprised that any could doubt the propriety of it. The whole effect of an offensive remark is to be traced to the time, place, and circum stances which accompany it-and, above all, to the per son to whom it is made. We have every day occasion to witness and deplore the total want of truth which exists in relation to charges made by irresponsible in. dividuals against public men. We are ourselves often the victims of gross slander. Our expressions are perverted, our opinions misrepresented, and sentiments ascribed to us which we never entertained, and even when we disclaim them. But will any intelligent portion of the community pass judgment against an honorable member of this House, because, forsooth, some irresponsible, unknown scribbler in a newspaper thinks proper to impeach his character? Will any man on this floor, who has the certificate of a Sovereign State as the evidence of his integrity, be injured in public estimation by the foul attacks of an equally irresponsible and upstart editor, who, begotten amid the mad passions of excited political elements, pursuing the business of calumny and detraction, as his avocation, with an assiduity and a zeal which proves him equally regardless of truth, and insensible to shame; whose insatiate thirst for the life-blood of honor is never allayed by the victims daily immolated on his polluted altar-will such aspersion, I ask, injure the fair fame of any man whose life and conduct has claimed the confidence of his constituents? No sir, they will not; and therefore we want no rule on the subject. With such individuals, no gentleman on this floor can enter the lists, YEAS.-Messrs. Barnard, Barton, Bateman, Bell, Benor wish to engage in altercation: for one, sir, I would not The vile work of such a being is debe made to do so. stined to the fate which its author merits and will certain- ton, Bouligny, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, Cobb, Dickerly experience. A few revolving moons will bring on the son, Foot, Harrison, Hayne, Hendricks, Johnston, of Lou. period when such an ephemeral creature, having bluster-isiana, Knight, McKinley, Marks, Noble, Parris, Robbins, ed through the impure atmosphere in which alone he can live, will be annihilated by the calm and sober sense of even those who once tolerated his vices; when oblivion will shroud both the agent and his infamous labours, and conceal their odious character from the memory of all. But, sir, widely different is the case of an offensive remark made here, and recorded amongst your Journals The station of the speaker, the theatre of his operations the supposed responsibility under which he acts, are all calculated to attract the notice of all who hear him; and when in after times the knowledge of the charge is fur NAYS.-Messrs. Barnard, Barton, Bateman, Bell, Bouligny, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, Cobb, Dickerson, Foot, Harrison, Hayne, Hendricks, Johnston, of Louisiana, Knight, McKinley, Marks, Noble, Parris, Robbins, Ruggles, Sanford, Seymour, Silsbee, Smith, of South Mr. WHITE moved to divide the amendment, so as Carolina, Thomas, Tyler, Van Buren, Willey.-30. first to decide the question of conferring the right on the President, and then on the appeal of the Senate. The division having been agreed to, the question upaffirmative, by the following vote: on the first portion of the amendment was decided in the Ruggles, Sanford, Seymour, Silsbee, Smith, of South NAYS.-Messrs. Berrien, Eaton, Ellis, Johnson, of The question on the second portion of the amendment then occurring, and Mr. FOOT having called the yeas and nays, it was adopted by the following vote: YEAS.-Messrs. Barnard, Barton, Bateman, Bell, Benton, Berrien, Bouligny, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, FEB. 15, 1828.] The Militia-Breakwater in the Delaware-Judicial Process. Cobb, Dickerson, Eaton, Ellis, Foot, Harrison, Hayne, Hendricks, Johnson, of Kentucky, Johnston, of Louisana, Kane King, Knight, McKinley, McLane, Marks, Noble, Parris, Ridgley, Robbins, Rowan, Ruggles, Sanford, Seymour, Silsbee, Smith, of South Carolina, Tazewell, Thomas, Tyler, Van Buren, White, Willey, Willams, Woodbury.-44 NAYS.-Messrs. Macon, Smith, of Maryland.-2. So the amendment of Mr FOOT, to the 6th rule, was agreed to. The VICE PRESIDENT then rose, and said, that he took this opportunity to express his entire satisfaction with that portion of the amendment giving to Senators the right of appeal from the decision of the Chair, as it was not only according to strict principle, but would relieve the Chair from a most delicate duty. As to the power conferred upon the Chair, it was not for him to speak; but he assured the Senate that he should always endeavor to exercise it with strict impartiality. Mr FOOT then moved to amend the 7th rule by inserting, after the words "called to order," the words "by a Senator," making it requisite to write down the offending words uttered by a member, only when a Senator should have called him to order; which was agreed to. Mr. MACON asked whether a vote should not be taken on the two amendments. The CHAIR answered, that the division of the amend. ment precluded the necessity of doing so. Mr. NOBLE remarked that the Chair ought to be assisted by every member in keeping order. He had voted for the amendment, because it made the power of the President doubly sure. It gave him a power which he, Mr. N., had no doubt he possessed from the Constitution; and he hoped that, under the present regulation, the flood-gates of the waters of Roanoke would never be opened to inundate the Senate Chamber again. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1828. On motion of Mr. CHANDLER, the bill for the organization of the Militia of the United States, and for the discipline thereof, was taken up. Mr. HAYNE moved to amend the bill by striking out "21," and inserting "18," making the bill include all persons between the ages of 18 and 28. [SENATE. struction of a Breakwater at the mouth of Delaware Bay; and an amendment proposed by the Committee on Commerce to authorize the expenditure under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, instead of the Secretary of the Navy, was agreed to. Mr. WOODBURY explained the objects of the bill, the different plans that had been formed for the construction, and the various estimates of the cost of the Breakwater, and moved to fill the blank in the bill with the sum of 250,000 dollars. Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, made some remarks in fa vor of the bill, when the motion to fill the blank with 250,000 dollars was agreed to. Mr. MARKS made some remarks in favor of the bill. Mr. KING moved to strike out the "Secretary of the Treasury," and insert the "President of the United States." He thought the expenditure could be made more advantageously under the direction of the President. Mr. WOODBURY remarked that there could be no objection to the proposition; and the motion was agreed to. Mr. MACON called for the yeas and nays on engrossing the bill; which was sustained. Mr. SMITH, of S. C. moved that the consideration of the bill be postponed to Wednesday. After a few remarks from Messrs. WOODBURY and SMITH, of Maryland, the motion of Mr. SMITH, of S. C. was agreed to. JUDICIAL PROCESS. On motion of Mr. ROWAN, the bill to establish process in the States admitted into the Union since the year 1789, was taken up. Mr. PARRIS moved the reconsideration of the vote taken on Friday, on the amendment offered by Mr. ROWAN; which motion was rejected. Mr. PARRIS then prefaced a motion to recommit the bill, with some remarks explanatory of his motives. On this motion considerable discussion took place, in which Messrs. SANFORD, KANE, ROWAN, WEBSTER, TAZEWELL, and JOHNSTON, of Louisiana, expressed themselves. Mr. PARRIS then withdrew his motion to recommit; and Mr. JOHNSTON, of Lou. having questioned the Chair as to the propriety of moving to reconsider the vote of Friday, on Mr. ROWAN'S amendment, the President observed that it would be in order to move to re. The motion was opposed by Mr. CHANDLER, and sup-consider the vote on reconsideration. Mr. SMITH, of Md. moved to reconsider the vote on the motion to reconsider. Mr.HARRISON did not agree in all the provisions of the bill; but was clear that something must be done. He, therefore, moved to lay the bill upon the table, and submitted the following resolution: Resolved, That the report on the subject of the militia, made in the year 1790, by Henry Knox, Secretary of War, and submitted to Congress by the President of the United States, be printed for the use of the Senate. Mr. CHANDLER said, that the only objection that occurred to him to the motion was, that it would create great delay. He should not be opposed to it, if the bill could be called up early. The motion to lay the bill on the table was then agreed to-and the resolution submitted by Mr.HARRISON was, by unanimous consent, agreed to. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1828. This motion was warmly opposed by Messrs. ROWAN and TAZEWELL. Mr. WEBSTER said, that some extraordinary propo sitions had been laid down in the argument that had just been pronounced; but the lateness of the hour induced him to move an adjournment. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1828. The unfinished business of yesterday, being the bill to establish process in the States admitted into the Union since the year 1789, was then taken up, and the question being on reconsidering the vote on the motion of Mr. PARRIS to reconsider the vote on the amendment offered by Mr. ROWAN on Friday last Mr. WEBSTER addressed the Senate at great length in favor of the motion. He entered into a view of the ostensible objects and ultimate effects of the bill under consideration, and argued that the former were not adhered to, while the latter would be disastrous and inconvenient in the extreme. He replied in detail to the ar guments urged yesterday by Messrs. TAZEWELL and ROWAN, discussing the signification given by the process acts of '89 and '92, to the term civil law, by which SENATE.] Columbian College-Claims of Abraham Ogden--Delaware Breakwater. equity process was to be regulated, and opposing the idea that the common law was alluded to by the terms of those acts. He considered that, if the bill passed in its present shape, it would destroy all equity process in many of the old States. He was perfectly willing that the advantages asked for by the new States should be acceded to them, but felt it his duty to oppose a bill which threatened so much evil to the older members of the Union. Mr. VAN BUREN supported the motion, remarking that the bill, in its present form, was allowed to progress merely through an oversight of the Senate. Mr. ROWAN said, that, in order to correct some mat-, ters of fact on this subject, it would be necessary for him to consult certain documents. He therefore moved to lay the bill on the table; but withdrew his motion at the request of Mr. KANE, who replied briefly to some portion of the remarks of Mr. WEBSTER; to which the latter answered in a few words. Mr. ROWAN then renewed his motion to lay the bill on the table; which was agreed to. COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. On motion of Mr. EATON, the orders of the day were postponed, and the bill for the relief of the Columbian College was taken up. Some amendments were agreed to, and some conversation took place between Messrs. EATON and CHANDLER, which, from the tumult in the gallery, the Reporter could not hear. Mr. SMITH, of South Carolina, said, that, as there were many persons connected with this transaction, he, wished to know from the committee whether those per- | sons who formerly owed the sum about to be given up, would now assume the debt. Would Mr. Rice become again liable for the 15,000 dollars due by him; and was Col. McKenney willing to suffer an embargo upon his salary for the sum for which he was indebted. [FEB. 20, 1828. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1828. COLUMBIAN COLLEGE. On motion of Mr. EATON, the preceding orders of the day were postponed, and the bill for the relief of the Columbian College was taken up. Mr SMITH, of South Carolina, said that it might be supposed, from his having asked the postponement of the bill to this day, that he intended to address the Senate upon the subject. He did not intend to do so, farther than to state that he had read the report of the committee, to which the gentleman from Tennessee had yesterday referred him, and had not received from it the satisfaction which he had desired. Mr. CHANDLER said that the opinion might have been formed, from what he said yesterday, that he was opposed to the object of the bill. He was not. He only wished that the property and sureties in the hands of the College might be given up to the United States. If that was faithfully provided for, he did not oppose relieving the College from its obligation. Mr. RIDGELY said that the object of the bill was to give up the obligation of the College, only on condition that the houses and lots conveyed to the College should be reconveyed to the United States, and the notes of McKenney were also given up The notes had not been assigned to the College; they had been simply delivered to the College. It would be at the discretion of the officer of the Government to defer the relinquishment of the obligation of the College until the property and papers were delivered up. He moved to amend the bill, as was understood by our Reporter, to guard the bill more fully in this respect; which was agreed to. The bill was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading. DELAWARE BREAKWATER. On motion of Mr. WOODBURY, the orders were post. poned, and the bill making appropriation for the con Mr. EATON made some remarks which were imper-struction of a Breakwater near the mouth of the Dela fectly heard. He was understood to refer the gentle man ware, was taken up. [This bill makes an annual appro from South Carolina to the report of the committee on the priation of $250,000 for ten years.] subject. Mr. SMITH, of South Carolina, spoke briefly against Mr. SMITH, of South Carolina, said that he had not the appropriation, on the ground that the reports of the read the report. It was a very long one; and it was im-gineers upon the subject were not satisfactory, and that the revenue did not authorize so large an expenditure as possible for gentlemen to read all the reports that were the bill contemplated. laid upon their tables. If they could, they had better capacities and better constitutions than he had. He hop ed, therefore, in order that he might read this document, that he should be indulged in a motion to postpone the consideration of the bill till to-morrow. The motion was then agreed to. CLAIM OF ABRAHAM OGDEN. Mr. EATON moved that the question on reconsidering the vote on the bill for the relief of Abraham Ogden might then be taken. Mr. E. stated that the motive with which he asked the reconsideration of that vote, arose from a statement made to him by a gentleman acquainted with the subject, who informed him that further evidence was in preparation in the Navy Department, and would shortly be laid before the Senate. Mr. FOOT said, if there was a point at which discussion should end, it had been arrived at on this subject, which had been decided by the yeas and nays. Mr. WOODBURY said, that if, when the new evidence appeared, it should not alter the aspect of the case, the Senate could persist in its former decision. He did not pretend to declare whether such a result would or would not be produced. Mr. KING opposed the motion to reconsider, and moved to lay the motion on the table; which was agreed to. bill, sustaining its importance, not only to the States in the Mr. McLANE spoke at great length in support of the vicinity of the Delaware, but to the interests of commerce throughout the country. He also supported his arguments by citing many documents and computations, showing that immense losses of property and lives had hitherto been sustained by the dangerous navigation of the Dela ware, and the advantages to commerce and the revenue which would result from the completion of the Break water. Mr. CHANDLER thought, that, as this was to be an experiment, the smallest sum reported ought to have been chosen, instead of the largest. Mr. McLANE replied briefly to Mr. CHANDLER. length to the observations of Mr. McLANE. The bill was further supported by Messrs. SMITH, of THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1828. On motion of Mr. ROWAN, the Senate resumed the motion of the 18th instant, to reconsider the vote on the reconsideration of that of the 14th instant, on engrossing The gentleman had stated, that the laws of Kentucky would not permit an execution to be taken out by a cre. ditor upon his judgment, unless he would endorse, that uncurrent or unavailable bank notes would be taken in discharge of it. That, to remedy this evil, the Federal Judges had made the rules complained of by the Senators from Kentucky. He added, moreover, that the execution laws of Kentucky were declared, both by the State and Federal Judges, to be unconstitutional and void. Sir, said Mr. Rowan, as to the first statement of the gentleman, it is utterly erroneous-there never was a law of Kentucky which forbade the plaintiff to sue out execution upon his judgment, unless he would endorse that he would take unavailable paper in discharge of it. I do not know, said Mr. R. whence the gentleman obtained his information, but I do know that it is incorrect. It was always competent for a plaintiff to sue out his execution immediately after the term had expired, at which he had obtained his judgment. But there was a period in that State, in which the defendant in the execution, could, when it came to be levied upon his property, replevy the debt for two years, unless the plaintiff had endorsed that he was willing to receive the current bank notes of the State, in which case he could replevy for three months only. Why the gentleman should have referred to the exccution laws of Kentucky, he could not well perceive, for whether those laws were, or were not, constitutional, or expedient, must be foreign from the point under discussion, which was, whether the Judges possessed the power to make execution laws under any circumstances. If, under color of making rules of Court, they possessed the power to make execution laws, then they could have exercised that power, whether the execution laws of the State had been wise or foolish, void or valid. And if they rlid not possess the power to legislate, then they could not, under any state of things, have made those execution laws, or rules. But, as the laws of that State had been mentioned by the gentleman, in a manner that might seem to imply censure, he would, while he reprobated, in the most emphatic manner, the right, or propriety, of any Senator's censuring the conduct of a State, claim the indulgence of the Senate for a few moments, while he vindicated the State, by which he had been honored with a seat in that body, from the imputation which that gentleman had been pleased to utter in inuendoes. He would, however, premise, as a fact well known, not only to physiologists, but to all close observers of human na ture, that the Creator of man has wisely and benignantly endowed him with energies beyond what are required for the ordinary avocations of life-energies for special and extraordinary exigencies, which lie dormant until the emergencies, which awaken and call them into action, occur; that the degree of energy beyond the stock habitually employed in the ordinary pursuits of life, which shall be called into exercise upon any occasion, depends upon the excitement which the occasion produces. Now, sir, it is known that there is no general condition of sociesy which excites its members so powerfully as a state of war. [SENATE. It Hence it has been said by wise men, that it is but little less dangerous to close, than to commence a war. To allay the stock of excitement which that condition produces-to ease men down to their ordinary pacific pursuits, from a high and fervid state of excitement; or, if the similie may be allowed, to let off the steam when the voyage is closed, without bursting the boiler, deranging the machinery, or injuring the passengers, is a task of great delicacy, and very great difficulty. This excitement may be extraordinary even for a state of war. may be rendered so by an infinite variety of occurrences. A spirit of disaffection among those who are carrying it on; unexpected disasters: a savage and brutal species of warfare, on the part of the enemy, are among the causes calculated to produce almost preternatural excitement during its progress; and, upon its sudden termination, to expose society, in its pacific state, to the effects of the very highest wrought war-feeling. Sir, such was the character of our last war. We had beheld in other quarters, for more than twenty years before its commencement, the fiercest, the most desolating ravages of war. We had not looked on as cold and heedless spectators; we could not do so. The scenes, though tragic, were grand and magnificent. All Christendom, with the exception of the United States, were involved in the war; and the United States and all the rest of the world looked on with wonder and amazement. Never did nations contend more strenuously; never did war crowd upon the gaze of mankind events more splendid, or in more rapid succession. The United States were subject, not only to the excitement which a spectacle so grand, so august, could not fail to produce on them as mere spectators; but they were unceasingly exposed to collision with some one of the bel ligerents. They were, in fact, for much of the time, in a state of quasi war with more than one of them. Then, sir, when the war really came, it found the people of this nation in a state of great excitement. Let me ask if the occurrences during that war were calculated to diminish that state of feeling? The disaffection of some of the States; their refusal to co-operate in bringing it to an honorable close, surely was not calculated to damp the ardor, abate the zeal, or diminish the patriotism of the people of Kentucky. The Kentuckians, said Mr. R. are, and I speak it with pride, a brave and chivalric people. They felt all the zeal for the glory of their country, with which its accumulated injuries could inspire an ardent, a brave, and a patriotic people. They never hesitated, never faltered for a moment. They poured out their blood like water on the northwestern frontier. They were prodigal of life at Tippecanoe, the plains of Raisin, at Dudley's rencontre, on the Thames, and Orleans. Sir, Kentucky was widowed by the war-she was bereaved, by its ravages, of some of her most distinguished sons. I need not, said Mr. R. name them; the occasion does not require it. Among them were Colonels Allen and Daviess-men surpassed in none of the States, in no part of the world, whether you have reference to their virtues or their talents. Sir, the glory of the closing scene of the war was calculated, by its effulgence to excite to rapture such a people as the Kentuckians, and they did enjoy the raptures of that unparalleled victory-a victory which they had assisted to achieve a victory, which obscured, by its splendors, the mortifying occurrences at this place-yes sir, which obliterated the defloration, by the enemy, of the proud edifice in which we now sit, and healed the wound inflicted upon the just pride of the patriotic portion of the American people, by that humiliating event. But, said Mr. ROWAN, I have dwelt longer upon this part of the subject than, perhaps, I ought. The object was to show that the people of Kentucky were not cold-blooded, indifferent spectators; that they were greatly excited, and entered into the cause of their country, with animation and zeal; that the disasters and SENATE.] Judicial Process. [FEB. 20, 1 who had fought the battles of their country, an oppt nity of paying their debts, without the entire sacrific their property, and the loss of their liberty, by impri ment. And mark, Mr. President: The great majorit the creditors in that, as under like circumstances ! will always be, in every State, were not the ardent, g rous, brave men who had entered, with their wholes wage. They were mostly, your cold-blooded, cunn calculating, avaricious men, whose only love of cou was love of money-whose patriotism was cupic and whose zeal was to enrich themselves, and to ruin men who had saved their country. These, sir, were echoed by capitalists from every quarter-and we know that the capitalists were not the patriots in last war. victories, in which they participated largely, were calculated to excite, and did excite them greatly; that at the close of the war they were left in a state of very high feeling. And, in conjunction with these, he begged leave to state another fact, not without its influence in producing the state of things which ensued, and at which the gentleman has alluded, not, indeed, with express, but with evident implied reprobation. Sir, it must be re-into the war which their country had been constraine collected that the United States' Bank did not exist at that period; that the State Banks furnished much of the money, with which the war was conducted; Kentucky furnished her full portion. The needs of the government, and the excitement to which he had alluded, had pro duced, perhaps, an inordinate issue by the Banks, in that—but they were clamorous-and their clamors v State. The men and supplies furnished by that State, caused, naturally, during, and at the close of the war, a plenary, if not profuse, circulation of local notes. This furnished, to the excited state of the public mind, facilities for the indulgence of feverish and extravagant projects; impracticable plans were honestly, but erroneously formed; chimerical notions of wealth and aggrandizement were cherished. In fine, the state of feeling was suited to the occasion which had produced, and not to the condition which had ensued it. They enjoyed peace, while they were under the influence of war feelings. The Bank of the United States was created immediately upon the close of the war, and the Government, very unwisely, as he always thought, determined, suddenly, through its instrumentality, to restore, not gradually, as it ought, but suddenly, a metallic currency. The effects of this unwise measure are known to all; they were felt by almost all in Kentucky. The change, Mr. President, was too sudden-the shock inflicted by it was too severe-the sacrifices produced by it were too numerous and too agonizing-the basis upon which the enterprise, the hopes, and the happiness of the people of that State rested, was suddenly and unexpectedly taken from under them, and they were turned over, as lawful prey to the Bank of the U. States, and the mercenary vultures that hovered round that institution. The Legislature of the State, in the laudable view to mitigate the calamities, which had so suddenly and so unexpectedly overtaken the people, and to save from ruin as many as possible of her citizens, by affording them time to disembarrass themselves, passed an act authorizing the defendant, when the plaintiff had not endorsed, that he would take the current notes of the State, to replevy the debt for two years, but denying to him, when the plaintiff had made such endorsement, the right to replevy, for more than three months. And what was the mighty evil of this delay? The defendant executed a bond, with two ap proved securities, for the payment of the amount of the execution within two years. The debt was made perfectly secure; it bore interest during the time, and had the force of a judgment, upon which execution issued, as matter of course, and upon which there could be no delay. The injury was, if an injury that may be called, which is a public good, that the plaintiff was not permitted to take the entire estate of the defendant for less than a one hundreth part of its value. There was no money which would be taken, save what little could be obtained from the United States Bank; and that was not obtained by debtors, and when obtained, was employed by those who could obtain it, in merciless speculation, at forced sales by the sheriff. The contracts had all been predicated upon the local currency-none other had been known or thought of, that had been put down by the United States Banka new state of things had ensued. The creditor refused the medium for which he had contracted, and demanded payment in one which had been suddenly created, and could not be suddenly obtained. The Legislature not only passed this law, but passed a law also abolishing imprisonment for debt; thus affording to the brave fellows But, he begged leave to ask, if Kentucky was the State that had, by her enactions, attempted during war to suit her code to her condition? Sir, a great jority of the States altered their execution laws. Pu sentiment approved it, because the deranged condi of affairs required it. Virginia, the ancient dominio State as distinguished for the correctness and stability her political creed, as for the heroes and statest which she has produced-even she suspended executio for he believed) twelve months. But why quote exa ples-what are the States for-what the annual session their Legislatures-but, by changing the laws, to them to the varying condition of society? It is true, sir, that the Circuit Judge pronounced replevin law of Kentucky to be unconstitutional and v He declared the law to be void, because it delayed just and immediately enacted a law which authorized defendant to replevy for three months. He declared replevin law of the State to be unconstitutional, immediately made a replevin law. He declared the of the State, abolishing imprisonment for debt, to be y for the same reason, and immediately enacted an impra ment law. [Here Mr. RowAN presented to the H the rules made by the Federal Judges of the Kente District. They consisted of 17 Sections. They read by the Secretary of the Senate in his place.]! said Mr. RowAN, if the judge had really believed th laws of the State to be unconstitutional, and, if he really believed, also, that he possessed legislative powe a respect for himself—the pride of consistency, an decent respect for the sentiment of the State should have restrained him from the course which he pursu There was an unparalleled audacity in ordaining, by ruk Court, a replevin law, when he had determined that I on the part of the State to be unconstitutional. Th was an insolent defiance of public sentiment, in ordaini imprisonment for debt, after the Legislature of the Sta had abolished it. Sir, we hear a great deal about ! purity and sanctity of the judicial character, and eulogi without number are pronounced upon the present incul bents. He had nothing to say about the men; it was th corporate powers of the judicial department, and not wit the Judges, that this Senate had to do in the prese question. He must, however, be permitted to say, th he did not rate very highly that sanctity which w unceasingly employed in profaning the State laws, st State authorities-which, in the exercise of a litt usurped and brief authority, outraged the sacred prin ples of freedom, and drew into contempt the m solemn civil institutions. Sir, you have in the rules court, which have just been read, a full and compl code of execution laws including replevin-impriso ment for debt, and a system of conveyancing. The ve highest attributes of sovereignty are exerted in concla by these judges. They make their rules, which subje your property to seizure and sale, and your body | |